This idyllic white-sand island is a foodie paradise known for its fish sauce

No one recommends the Vietnamese fish sauce factory tour on the island of Phu Quoc. Not the bubbly waitress at the upmarket resort restaurant, not the cheerful driver who ferries me around the hotel's lush grounds in a buggy, not even the resort's ultra-helpful "experience agent" - whose job it is to organise these types of tours - thinks I should see how "nuoc mam" is made.

They all laugh when I tell them what I want to do; they think my western nose is too delicate for the stink of anchovies fermenting in the heat. But fish sauce is the backbone of Vietnamese cooking, and has been manufactured on Phu Quoc island for centuries. Wouldn't seeing fish sauce production in Vietnam be like visiting the sauce (sorry, source) of the Mekong?

I am staying at the lush, five-star Regent Phu Quoc resort, south of the Vietnamese mainland, overlooking the serene aqua-blue Gulf of Thailand. The property is a jewel in the IHG Hotels & Resorts crown, and a popular destination for Australians who want to go all out on a luxurious and relaxing experience as part of their Vietnamese jaunt - or as a destination in itself.

The island - combining untouched tropical landscapes and charming village life - is known for its white-sand beaches, seafood, pepper and fish sauce, and I intend to experience each of these before I leave. Beyond the hotel's "all you need is right here" vibe - including scrumptious restaurants, poolside cabanas, pilates classes, massages (I have one - it's heaven) and watersports, I am keen to find out what makes Vietnamese culture tick.

Generations of Phu Quoc families have used traditional techniques to ferment fish sauce on the island, perfecting the umami-rich condiment. The liquid gold ripens in barrels for years, not unlike a fine wine. Lan, a resort waitress, says her family can't get by without it, and her father is quite the connoisseur, rating highly the local product. "He only likes the best, he has a taste for it," she says.

Vietnamese cooking is all about four things - salt, sweetness, sourness and spice. But fish sauce does more than just bring the salt - it provides a depth of flavour that is hard to replicate.

My Vietnam trip is centred around the Regent's annual Taste Studio, a top-class degustation and theatrical experience where chefs and artists tell a story - and late in 2024 it's about the island's local produce, much of it from the sea - to a small group of 16 guests at a time. I know fish sauce will feature in the menu, and I am looking forward to finding out more about its traditional roots.

But right now, it's breakfast time, and the buffet at the Regent's Vietnamese-style restaurant, Rice Market, is a sight to behold. It spans rooms, offering everything from sweet pastries and fresh bread baked on the premises, to Chinese dim sum and the area I'm interested in: a traditional Vietnamese pho soup counter.

I join the line and the server pours a ladle full of the steaming broth into my bowl and places a handful of mixed herbs on top; sawtooth coriander, Vietnamese mint and Thai basil become fragrant in the soup's steam. I choose my accompaniments: a sprinkle of fresh-chopped chilli, a wedge of lime and a drizzle of Phu Quoc fish sauce.

I need a serving tray to carry back my loot, which includes fresh coconut juice served in an actual coconut, and a cup of traditional Vietnamese coffee called ca phe sua da - cold-drip with condensed milk over ice. You don't want the hot stuff here - it's steamy enough outside.

Back at my table, the aroma of the pho and fish sauce hits my nostrils and I smile. I text the experience agent, Thuyen, and tell him I want to go ahead with the fish sauce tour.

But first, a swim in paradise. I hit the beach (I can confirm the sand is pinch-yourself white) where a staff member lays out a towel for me on a sun chair and brings me fresh juice, as though I am a princess. Breast-stroking through the almost-flat, 28-degree water, I can hear only the push and pull of the tide brushing against the shore and the swoosh of palm trees in the breeze.

Later on, Taste Studio begins at the impeccably positioned Fu Bar on the top level of the resort, while the sun is setting orange over the sea and the bar's infinity pool (which you can swim in while you have a cocktail). The members of our group sip chilled white wine and eat canapes, including local sea snail - which is strangely chewy; an acquired taste, perhaps - adorned with sumptuous garlic butter and mango.

Next, we are seated in Oku, the resort's flagship omakase Japanese-French restaurant, where an entourage of wait staff serve us fettuccine with Nha Trang lobster, Phu Quoc scallops, fresh wasabi and local sea urchin.

The fettuccine's texture is a delight in my mouth and while we eat, renowned Spanish artist Mr Dripping entertains us by making an artwork on the bench, evolving with each course. He mixes blue paint with a spatula and slaps it on the canvas with a pastry brush.

There are six courses and when we get to the Japanese A5 wagyu beef - a slow-cooked beef cheek with Phu Quoc oyster cream and sea urchin sauce - the artwork is almost complete. The beef melting in my mouth, salty with Phu Quoc fish sauce and with a hint of local pepper, I hear chef Huan Tran saying the dish is "inspired by love".

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The sound of running water emanates from my terrace pool villa's private infinity pool when I wake up the following morning. The room is almost as big as my own house and they have thought of everything here, right down to the daily fresh fruit on the coffee table and his and hers straw hats for relaxing seaside.

Thuyen has organised an island tour for me which will include a pepper farm about a 25-minute drive up the island, as well as one of the famous fish sauce factories (there are about 200 on Phu Quoc).

At Phu Quoc Countryside Pepper Farm, tour guide Huong tells me they grow 1000 pepper plants which take about eight months to harvest for their green and red peppercorns, which are dried in the sun. I buy three jars of spices - dried white peppercorns, pepper crushed with chilli and salt, and pepper and garlic salt, keen to take some flavours of Phu Quoc home with me.

For lunch at the pepper farm, I order Vietnamese pancake, banh xeo, with turmeric, and it's served with rice paper and herby greens. The piece de resistance is the lip-smacking dipping sauce made of Phu Quoc fish sauce, garlic, sugar and lime juice, and I eat under an awning in the salty heat, watching the pepper plants swaying in the breeze, while my tour driver naps in a hammock strung up between two fruit trees.

Arriving in the carpark of the Khai Hoan Fish Sauce Factory, I'm trepidatious, and open the car door a crack while sniffing the air like an animal. There's no stench, and when I am greeted in the factory's shop area by worker Toai, I catch the scent only of Vietnamese cooking - savoury and a little sweet.

Unfortunately, I can't watch the manufacturing process, but Toai shows me the large wooden barrels, each containing 10,000 kilograms of fermenting fish sauce, and I taste various types, differentiated by their protein content and how many years they've been in the barrel. Disappointingly, Toai informs me I won't be allowed to take fish sauce home on the aircraft, so there's no use buying any. Outside, passengers from a minibus are loading large bottles of loot into their vehicle, and I imagine one of them being Lan's father, buying up his fish sauce supplies for the month.

Back in Sydney Airport's customs area, two of my three pepper products are confiscated and I am left with a lone jar of pepper and garlic salt, a delightful culinary memory of my time in paradise. But it's not enough; I dream of Phu Quoc fish sauce and the pho soup at the Regent. I'll be back - and when I am, I reckon Thuyen will be recommending the fish sauce tour to future guests, because I told him how delicious it was.

Getting there: Vietnam Airlines flies daily from Sydney and Melbourne, via Ho Chi Minh, to Phu Quoc from $470 one way. Regent Phu Quoc will pick you up from Phu Quoc airport and drop you back there when, unfortunately, it's time to go home.

Staying there: The Regent Phu Quoc is on Phu Quoc island in Vietnam. The King Terrace Pool Villa starts from $US688 ($1100) per night for two people. Breakfast is included and there's a calendar of free activities such as pilates.

Good to know: Regent Phu Quoc's Taste Studio is an immersive theatrical experience bringing together a degustation menu by chefs from around the world, art, music and performance to tell a story. Anyone can book Taste Studio as part of their stay at Regent Phu Quoc, and it will take place again in November 2025. Prices for the 2024 event started at about $620 a head.

Explore more: phuquoc.regenthotels.com

The writer was a guest of Regent Phu Quoc and Vietnam Airlines.